Grenville in 1935
History
United Kingdom
Name	Grenville
Namesake	Richard Grenville
Ordered	15 March 1934
Builder	Yarrow Shipbuilding Company,Scotstoun,Glasgow
Cost	£275,412
Laid down	29 September 1934
Launched	15 August 1935
Completed	1 July 1936
Identification	Pennant number: H03
Motto	Deo Patriae Amicis (Latin :"For God, Country, and Friends")
Fate	Sunk bymine, 19 January 1940
General characteristics
Class and type	G-classflotilla leader
Displacement	1,455long tons (1,478 t) (standard) 2,053 long tons (2,086 t) (deep load)
Length	330 ft (100.6 m)
Beam	34 ft 6 in (10.5 m)
Draught	12 ft 9 in (3.9 m)
Installed power	3Yarrow boilers 38,000 shp (28,000 kW)
Propulsion	2 shafts; 2 gearedsteam turbines
Speed	36knots (67 km/h; 41 mph)
Range	5,530 nmi (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Complement	175
Sensors and processing systems	ASDIC
Armament	5 × single4.7 in (120 mm) guns 2 × quadruple0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns 2 × quadruple21 in (533 mm)torpedo tubes 20 ×depth charges, 1 rail and 2 throwers

HMSGrenville was theflotilla leader for theG-classdestroyers, built for theRoyal Navy in the mid-1930s. She spent most of the pre-war period as part of theMediterranean Fleet. The ship was transferred to theBritish Isles to escort shipping in local waters shortly after the beginning ofWorld War II. In January 1940,Grenville struck amine outside theThames Estuary and sank with the loss of 77 of her crew.

Grenville displaced 1,455 long tons (1,478 t) atstandard load and 2,053 long tons (2,086 t) atdeep load. The ship had anoverall length of 330 feet (100.6 m), abeam of 34 feet 6 inches (10.5 m) and adraught of 12 feet 9 inches (3.9 m). She was powered byParsons gearedsteam turbines, driving two shafts, which developed a total of 38,000shaft horsepower (28,000 kW) and gave a maximum speed of 36knots (67 km/h; 41 mph). Steam for the turbines was provided by three Yarrow side-fired,water-tube boilers.Grenville carried a maximum of 470 long tons (480 t) offuel oil that gave her a range of 5,530nautical miles (10,240 km; 6,360 mi) at 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph). The ship's complement was 175 officers and men.^[1]

The ship mounted five 45-calibre4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark IX guns in single mounts. Foranti-aircraft (AA) defence,Grenville had two quadruple Mark I mounts for the0.5 inch Vickers Mark IIImachine gun. She was fitted with two above-water quadrupletorpedo tube mounts for21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes.^[1] Onedepth charge rail and two throwers were fitted; 20 depth charges were originally carried, but this increased to 35 shortly after the war began.^[2]

Ordered in 1934, the ship was laid down by theYarrow Shipbuilding Company atScotstoun inGlasgow on 29 September 1934, launched on 15 August 1935, and completed on 1 July 1936. Excluding government-furnished equipment like the armament, the ship cost £275,412.^[3] Aside from a brief period when she was assigned to the20th Destroyer Flotilla after her commissioning,Grenville spent the prewar period as the flagship of the1st Destroyer Flotilla with theMediterranean Fleet. She spent ten months deployed off the Spanish coast in the Western Mediterranean during theSpanish Civil War before returning toPortsmouth for a brief overhaul between 24 May and 9 June 1937. The ship returned to the Mediterranean until she was given a more thorough refit in Portsmouth between 7 June and 25 July 1938.^[4]

On the outbreak of war in September 1939,Grenville was deployed in the Mediterranean. On 22 October,Grenville and hersistersGriffin,Grenade andGipsy were transferred to theWestern Approaches Command and arrived atPlymouth on 2 November.Grenville andGrenade collided during the night of 7/8 November andGrenville's No. 3boiler room was flooded. She was under repair atHM Dockyard, Devonport until 1 December. While the ship was under repair, her flotilla had been transferred to theNore Command atHarwich for local patrol and escort work.Grenville rejoined them the on 3 December and participated in several attempts to intercept enemy shipping traffic off the Dutch and GermanNorth Sea coasts.^[5] Whilst returning from one of these missions on 19 JanuaryGrenville struck amine^[6] 23 miles (37 km) east ofKentish KnockLight Vessel. Seventy-seven of the ship's company were killed as the ship sank.^[5]

• English, John (1993).Amazon to Ivanhoe: British Standard Destroyers of the 1930s. Kendal, England: World Ship Society.ISBN 0-905617-64-9.
• Rohwer, Jürgen (2005).Chronology of the War at Sea 1939–1945: The Naval History of World War Two (Third Revised ed.). Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 1-59114-119-2.
• Whitley, M. J. (1988).Destroyers of World War Two: An International Encyclopedia. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press.ISBN 0-87021-326-1.

51°39′N02°17′E / 51.650°N 2.283°E /51.650; 2.283

• G and H-class destroyers of the Royal Navy
• Ships built on the River Clyde
• 1935 ships
• World War II destroyers of the United Kingdom
• World War II shipwrecks in the North Sea
• Maritime incidents in January 1940
• Ships sunk by mines

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